In The Hands Of The Prophet
by Seveninchsprockets
Summary: Armes, a young ordinary looking woman with an extraordinary gift, finds the cold form of a young man in the snow. (A Juunana story. Takes place after Super 17 saga) Please review!
1. Prologue: Stranger in the snow

**Author's notes: **I've noticed that not many people tend to write fiction about Juunanagou (Android 17), which I feel, is a bit of a shame. He's a very interesting, complex character, and it's a pity that his character wasn't delved into more in the Dragonball series. So, for my first attempt at Dragonball fiction, I've chosen Juunanagou as my leading man…er…. cyborg…. whatever. This story is A/U, taking place some time after the Super Android 17 saga. The Evil Shenlong saga does not occur. 

And, although I am aware of what happens in the Super Android 17 saga, I have not actually seen it. There may be a few little 'mistakes' on my part because of that fact, but I shall endeavor to be as accurate as possible. 

Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review!

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball Z/GT and its characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Mr Akira Toriyama. Except for Armes, who belongs to be because I created her. So leave her alone.

**In The Hands Of The Prophet.**

**Prologue: Stranger in the snow.**

Winter had broken.

After what had seemed an eternity of frosted white and mind-numbing coldness, winter's hand was finally relinquishing it's death grip on the Lothian Valley and the surrounding forest. Spring was slowly pushing its way in, gradually seeping warmth into the earth's chilled bones.

But it wasn't over yet.

It was still rather frigid, the morning air biting rather spitefully at Armes' face as she pulled her woolskin jacket tighter around her. She found herself wishing for the umpteenth that she had remembered to wear her scarf. Winter was being stubborn. It was determined to show that it still had some kick left in it. She pulled the jacket tighter, cursing silently.

_"My face is going to resemble a tomato by the time I get back to the cabin. Great time to choose for a leisurely stroll, Armes."_

She picked up the pace a little, eager to get back to her cabin and the warm respite it promised. It was not her permanent home, rather a holiday house of sorts. She had purchased it several years ago as safe haven for her to escape to when living in Satan City became too much. She was a bit of a loner by nature, and she enjoyed the quiet solitude that the forest offered her. Besides, living in the city…. with the noise…. all the voices and images were sometimes overwhelming. With so many people living there it was sometimes hard to ignore them all. The valley with its silent forest helped to clear her mind. 

The wind picked up suddenly, and she shivered. She increased her pace even more. She could feel the storm coming, approaching from the horizon, southward. Winter wanted to go out with a bang, it seemed.

It wasn't until about five minutes of power jogging that she realized she was heading the wrong way. She was moving away from the trees, heading away from the path that would lead into the forest and take her to her shelter. She was going in the opposite direction, back the way she had come. Moving across the snow covered ground towards the river. She could see it now, the water's movement sluggish, clogged with great chunks of ice. She furrowed her brow, puzzled. She knew she had to head back, turn around and make for the trees, but she continued on her course. Something was pulling her this way.

_"And why are we going this way, Armes dear?"_

The snow was not as thick here, partially melted by yesterday's warmth and the sun's brief interlude. She continued to crunch her way towards the river, scanning the landscape with sharp eyes. Something was here. 

_"There."_

Less than twenty metres in front of her was a strange shape, covered by a thin crust of snow. She felt quite silly. She had not noticed it before. At first it appeared to be a deer carcass, or the remains of some other unfortunate animal that had met its end at the hands of winter. But no, she realized it could be none of those things. The shape on the ground seemed much too…human.

She knelt down beside the still figure, and without hesitation brushed away the suffocating frost with one gloved hand. She felt her chest ache with pity at what she uncovered.

A young man lay prone before her, his body and face frozen in exactly the same positions they must have been in when he died. He lay on his back, his legs twisted around towards her, arms splayed on either side of his body, head turned to face her. His clothes were in tatters, and Armes doubted that even if they had been whole they would not have helped to prevent his death. His dark blue jeans were badly torn in several places, and strips of black and white material clung to his upper body. It seemed that he had been wearing two shirts; a white one underneath and a black one over the top of it. There was also a scrap of orange around his neck. Perhaps from a scarf or bandanna. 

It was his face however, that caught her attention the most. He was startlingly handsome. No, beautiful was a better word for it, like a great work of art sculpted from marble. His hair, though encrusted with ice, was of the purest ebony, so dark it seemed that no light could exist within it. His sharply angled eyebrows accentuated the finer details of his face. The soft jaw line, the fall of his lashes on the impossibly smooth cheek, the perfectly formed lips. Yes, he was very beautiful. Armes knew that he would have been even more beautiful if he were alive.

With a sad smile, she placed her hand on the cold, white cheek. "Sorry, beautiful. I guess I just didn't make it here in time." 

Having said that, she stood and turned to leave. She'd get back to her cabin as soon as possible, call the nearest town sheriff and tell him what she-

She stopped.

She could not leave.

She whirled around to face the figure again, and knelt down once more. Pulling off one glove, she held her now bare fingers in front of his nose and mouth. Waiting.

And she felt it. The slightest breath of warm air caressed her fingers, causing them to tingle ever so slightly. 

She raised an eyebrow. She had not come out here to see a corpse after all. Quickly donning her glove, she carefully slipped her arms underneath his slender body and hauled him onto her shoulders. He was not as heavy as she had thought he would be, and with a sigh of relief she turned and began to trudge as quickly as possible towards the forest.

Anyone else would have been overwhelmed, perhaps even shocked had it happened to them. They would have claimed it to be an extreme stroke of good luck, perhaps even a miracle that they had been in the right place at the right time. For Armes it was neither of these. She had been here because she was meant to be. And she had found him because she had known.

She smiled. "It seems I'll get to meet you after all, beautiful."

To Be Continued… 

So, how was that? Good? Bad? Passable? This is my first Dragonball fic so please give me feedback. I'd really appreciate it.

**SiS**   

     


	2. Chapter One: First Glimpse

**Disclaimer: **Armes is mine. The rest of Dragonball Z isn't.

**In The Hands Of The Prophet.**

**Chapter One: First Glimpse. **

Armes was feeling very proud of herself. 

Looking down at her charge, now completely naked and lying on a thick quilt before the fire she had just managed to get going, she was suddenly struck by how unflustered she was by the whole situation. Being unflappable was nothing new to her; people often commented that she was the stoic type. But she was a woman after all, and even she had half-expected herself to collapse into childish giggling when she had peeled off the last of his clothing and let him lie there in all his naked glory. She would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation had she not been so intent on getting him warm. She felt the corner of her mouth lift in a half smile as she regarded him.

"Why, excuse me sir…. but we've only just met."

Well, technically not. She supposed she wouldn't actually 'meet' him until he woke up. 

"Guess I'll just have to put up with you and your indecency until then, won't I?" She smirked at her own little joke, kneeling down to place a gentle hand on his bare chest. He was breathing more deeply now, the rate steady and even, although he was still quite cold. She had plenty of blankets with which to cover him and return warmth to his body, but first…

She allowed her hand to slide up and across his chest, to the shoulder, then down his left arm. When she reached the wrist she gently lifted, holding his larger hand in her smaller ones as she studied it. She noted the slender, tapering fingers, the perfect oval shaped fingernails, but none of those things struck her as odd. 

It was the perfect, unmarred condition of his hands, as well as the rest of his body, which caught her attention.

Winter in the Lothian Valley was always harsh, but she had learned through conversing with the town locals that this year it had been even more so. Temperatures had dropped well below average, and many a community had suffered from loss of crops and livestock. _"How cold had Old Alf said it had gotten? Sometimes as low as minus 15 degrees on some nights."_

Minus 15 degrees. Now that was cold. Cold enough for any poor unfortunate who either didn't have the foresight or wasn't lucky enough to be indoors to suffer death by hypothermia within minutes. And if that didn't get them, frostbite most assuredly would.

And yet this strange young man had succumbed to neither. Despite the fact that it seemed he had been lying out there, exposed and unprotected, long enough to be buried under a good deal of snow.

Armes frowned, still staring at the cold hand she held in her own. _"How odd." _

The answer to this puzzle could only be one of two possibilities. One; he was the luckiest bastard in the world, or Two….

She smiled as she tucked the blankets underneath him. All of a sudden she was very curious about her new houseguest.

She glanced at clock sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. 11.56. Time for lunch. 

She looked back down at him, his face relaxed and peaceful in sleep, dark shoulder-length hair spread out across the pillow. Insatiable curiosity gnawed at her, and she bit her lower lip, indecisiveness pulling her in both directions. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick look, while he was unconscious…

"Don't be a fool. You remember what happened last time don't you? The bastard deserved it, oh yes…but remember how you ended up afterwards?"

She shut her eyes tightly, forcing the memory away. 

"Yes. I'm just an observer. Nothing else."

She walked briskly into the kitchen. A ham sandwich sounded good right about now.

**

You are me. I am you. We will become one. What? Who...who are you? I am you. No… Yes. Don't be afraid. Submit to me and you will have all that you desire. You want that, don't you? Y-yes… Good. Something forced it's way in. Twisted, sharp and black. Pain, unbelievable unimaginable pain followed, and an agonized scream pierced the darkness. Do not worry. Soon you will feel no more pain, Juunanagou. This power fills my body…the powers of Hell flow into me… The pain ceased abruptly, leaving a gaping hole. Hatred poured in, filling it. There were screams, and flashes of heat and light. Twisted hulks of metal flew through the air, followed by splashes of blood and dead bodies. And somewhere among it all, there was laughter. Die you idiots! 

~W-why am I laughing?~

**_Because you like this. You want it._**

****

~No…Oh God…No! Make it stop! Please!~

**_No. Join with me._**

****

A woman, clutching the lifeless body of her husband. She stared, despair turning to rage. Hate burned in her pretty blue eyes. 

  ~No… I didn't mean to…please. Don't hate me. Please….Juuhachi…~ 

She attacked, striking with impossible speed, accentuating each punch and kick with words of rage. How she hated him, how she would never forgive him…and how she wished that he were dead.

The man with the cold blue eyes and long dark hair tried to cry, but his body refused to let the tears fall.

~No…Y-you…You said I wouldn't feel anymore pain.~

**_I lied._**

**

Armes awoke with a violent jerk, chest heaving for breath. An involuntary sob pushed it's way out of her throat, and she lay there for several moments panting, disorientated and confused.

It came back to her quickly. She was in her cabin in the Lothian Forest. It was her winter holiday and she was on vacation. She'd had lunch an undetermined amount of time ago and had fallen asleep on the couch afterwards…and she had a guest. 

Said guest was currently still occupying a cozy little spot in front of the fireplace. The blankets were twisted and crunched around his legs, and he faced away from her, curled on his side in a fetal position. She watched the lean body spasm and twitch, caught in the throes of an uncomfortable dream. Every now and then the silence of the room was punctuated by the tiniest of whimpers.    

He was having a nightmare, that much was obvious. It was what had woken her up after all, and it still burned in the back of her mind. She should have expected such a thing to happen, since he was currently living in the same house as her.

She sighed and walked over to where he lay, sitting down beside him. His face, which had seemed so peaceful earlier, was now twisted into an expression of pain. For the second time that day she felt pity for him, and decided that she would ease his pain, if only for a little while. 

She gently pressed two fingers to his temple. Sudden doubt took hold of her, and she hesitated. 

"I'm not going to look. I'm not interfering. I'm helping."

Armes closed her eyes and began to think.

She thought of oceans, sunsets, of flowers blooming in a thousand different gardens. She thought of herds of deer grazing peacefully with their fawns in endless fields of green. She thought of people kissing, children playing, and of everything she knew that was good.

And then she thought of nothing.

She let her mind go blank, and allowed herself to sink into inky calm. It washed over her, soothing and cool, and after a while she was dimly aware of the fact that the burning images of the dream had stopped, and that he no longer struggled underneath her. 

Very slowly, she pulled herself out of her mantra, floating back up into reality. After a minute or so of adjusting, she gathered the blankets and spread them over him again. He was warmer now, and she was pleased to see that his face was expressionless. She gently pushed an unkempt strand of hair out of his face, pausing for the briefest of moments to admire its silkiness. She smiled.

"Feeling better?"

She glanced at the clock. 2.44. Her favorite radio show would be on soon. 

She stood, still smiling. She spoke a quiet farewell to him as she left.

"Sweet dreams Juunanagou."

To Be Continued… 

So, did you like that? Then please review! And oh, I've actually seen some of the Super Android 17 Saga now, so I should start to be more accurate. Notice I got some of the dialogue in there? Well, some of the Japanese translated dialogue anyway. But, this is A/U, so that probably gives me the right to be as inaccurate as I want. 

Bleah. I'll shut up now and try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

**SiS**


	3. Chapter Two: Waking and Meeting

**Author's notes: **Arrgghhh! What happened to the formatting? Grrrr! Stupid text! Messing up on me like that….how rude. I hope it didn't make the last chapter too difficult to understand. Bleah…dumb stupid old stupid format/text thing.

And you know what? The more I see of the Super Android 17 Saga the more I realize just how much it sucks. Poor Juunangou, forced to merge into that…thing. Just the mere image of it in my brain causes me to cringe. It's made me even more determined to give poor misguided Juu-kun a second chance with this fic. I mean, come on! What were the writers smoking when they decided to write that saga? Whatever it was it sure as hell killed off more than just a few brain cells.

All right, all right. I'll shut my whining mouth and get on with it. I know you're just itching for me to shut up. 

**Disclaimer: **(Yawn) Me no touchy Dragonball Z. Armes mine. Yah. 

In The Hands Of The Prophet. 

**Chapter Two: Waking and Meeting.**

"Good morning! Mark Neil here! It's 9.30 and what a beautiful Wednesday morning we have today in Satan City! Look's like spring's just round the corner, eh folks? Well, let's get on with the weather forecast so I can continue playing your favorite songs all day, every day! Today's top temperature for the coast will…"

Armes smiled softly to herself, enjoying Mark's inane drone over the small two-way radio she kept in the kitchen. Wiping her hands on a tea towel, she titled her head and listened as Mark cheerily reported the day's forecast. 

"…And further inland it'll be even warmer, with temperatures expected to reach a maximum of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Hello sunshine!

Armes' smile grew wider. _Warm weather. Finally._

"…Forecast for tomorrow is much the same, although the weather bureau has predicted that the weekend will bring some rain and cooler temperatures. Enjoy it while it lasts, huh? I'll bring you further updates at twelve, but for now, back to the music!"

Mark's beamy voice was suddenly replaced by the obnoxious ranting of some punk band singing about losing their virginity, causing Armes to curl her lip in distaste. She quickly reached over the sink and turned them off, and blissful silence filled the small house once again.

 She folded the towel and hung it over the faucet, her movements slow and lazy as she slipped into a pensive state. Now that Mark was quiet she had no outside distraction, and as usual in these situations she found her thoughts wandering, drifting off. It wasn't long before her wayward thoughts began to pull her attention towards the living room, and her unusual guest.

After his nightmare, the rest of the day had passed uneventfully. He had slept peacefully throughout the night, and she had not felt anything more from him. She had spent a good deal of time curled up on the sofa simply watching him, waiting for something, _anything _to happen. But of course it had not. He had slept on, oblivious, and she had been left to wait and wonder.

She watched the morning sun filter through the forest canopy, mind still churning. _Juunanagou._

Number Seventeen. 

An odd name, if indeed that's what it was. There was a good chance she was wrong. The numbers could very well be metaphorical, alluring to something more deeply buried within his subconscious of which she was not aware. But then again…

_Juuhachi._

Eighteen.

The woman in the dream…she had looked remarkably similar to her young charge. His sister? Quite possible. But the look of raw hatred seared onto the pretty blonde's eyes indicated to Armes that any love that may have existed between the two was long forgotten.

She cocked her head to the side, bird-like, curious. _Why?_

Something had happened. 

The images from the dream had been distorted and confused at best, but that did not prevent the strange chill that suddenly ran down Armes' spine. She knew this feeling. It was as familiar as the face that looked back at her from the bathroom mirror every morning.

_Death._

People had died, many people. It had come swiftly, raining down upon them before they could even open their mouths to scream. And he had been there. He'd witnessed it, been a part of it. He'd…

_Caused it?_

And the woman…Eighteen…she'd been leaning over someone, a somewhat short, older man with an unruly mop of black-gray hair and a matching mustache. He'd had a hole in his chest, and she was crying. That was when she had attacked him, or so it seemed to Armes. 

Was he really a murderer?

But the voices… 

They had sounded identical. Same tone, same inflections, everything. Yet one had seemed dark, malicious…evil.

And the other had been plaintive. It had sounded unsure, vulnerable, and almost childlike. And when the images of death had flashed through Armes' mind it had cried out, begging, pleading with the other voice to stop the carnage. But of course it hadn't.

But what did it all _mean_? Had it even happened? Or what it just some horrible, dark fantasy conjured up by his subconscious? What did the numbers mean? What were the voices? Why-

A sudden, overpowering wave of dizziness struck Armes, and she staggered awkwardly as the entire room seemed to tilt on its side and spin. Flailing her arms, she managed to stop herself from tipping over completely by grabbing the edge of the sink in a white-knuckle death grip, pulling herself up and leaning over the basin to steady herself. Suddenly she felt very tired, and the mother of all headaches had seated itself within her skull. But despite her discomfort, a strange half smile flitted across her pale lips.

He was awake.

**

The first thing he was aware of was his head. 

He cracked his eyes open a tiny fraction, only to immediately shut them again as the bright morning sunshine filtering in through the window caused his already monstrous headache to increase ten-fold

Ahh…fuck. Where the hell- 

He forced his eyelids open once more, his vision blurry but managing to adjust somewhat to the brightness of the room. He squinted, trying to recognize his surroundings. After a moment of confusion he realized he didn't have a bloody clue where he was.

Or how he'd gotten there.

He frowned, trying to remember. It proved to be a difficult and painful task. His memory was shrouded in a thick blanket of mist, and trying to penetrate it only caused the pain in his skull to worsen. He moaned, raising one hand to press it against his forehead.

"F-fuck…"

"How eloquent of you."

He started, eyes snapping open in surprise. He swung his head (a movement which caused even more grief) quickly towards the source of the unknown voice. For a moment he was confused why, even sitting down, she seemed to loom over him. After a second he realized he had been lying on the floor, under a thick layer of blankets. And that underneath all that he was _naked_. He scowled, his expression darkening. She smiled.

"Don't worry. I didn't look for any longer than was necessary." 

He blinked, staring up at her. She was young, perhaps no older then twenty-one. Even though she was sitting down he could tell that she wasn't very tall, perhaps just over five feet. But despite her short stature she seemed…powerful. She was neither slim nor fat, her medium build offset by a pair of broad shoulders that gave her the appearance of being much stronger than most women her age. Her skin was smooth and pale, almost white, giving her a porcelain-doll type appearance. She dressed simply; black kaki pants with a long-sleeved navy blue shirt over the top, the garments adding to the pale of her skin. Her face was rounded and kind looking, with a small delicate nose, pink lips and inky blue eyes. Her hair was quite short, cropped to sit just above her shoulders, and it was a dark red. The color of blood when drawn out from the vein. She smiled again, causing her dark blue eyes to twinkle with a strange light. He frowned, his scowl deepening. 

"Who the hell are you?"

She cocked her head to the side, giving her a bird like quality. "Do you have a headache?"

Her response was unexpected, to say the least. "Well…yes. But.."

Before he could finish the sentence she was beside him, pushing a half full glass of water and two aspirin into his hands. "Take these."

Realizing it was fruitless to argue, he quickly swallowed the bitter pills, draining the glass. She took the glass from him, leaving the room and returning a minute later with a bundle of clothes. She laid them beside him, and smiled at him once again. He was beginning to find it strange…that smile. It was like she was aware of something he was not.

"These are some of my clothes, but they should fit you." She gave a small, lighthearted chuckle. "As you can see, I'm not the skinniest girl around, so you should be quite comfortable in them." She stood then, still smiling. "I'll leave while you get dressed. I'm starting breakfast. Are you hungry?"

He was about to open his mouth to reply when his stomach let out an audible growl at the mention of food. _Damn thing has ears._

Her smile grew wider. "I'll take that as a yes." She turned to leave, speaking over her shoulder as she did so. "Please make yourself at home when you're done dressing. I'll let you know when breakfast's ready." She was almost out the door.

"Wait!"

She turned back to face him, that pleasant half-smile still on her lips. "Yes?"

He took a deep breath, his mind whirring. Here he was, in a strange place, with a complete stranger, having woken up after being out of commission from God-knows what. He just needed to know one thing for it to start making sense. 

"Who are you?"

The smile never faltered. " I am Armes. And you?"

_Here we go. _He just knew the reaction he was going to get when he told her his name. 

"I'm Juunanagou."

And to his complete and utter shock she just kept on smiling. In fact, he could have sworn she almost grinned. 

"Very nice to meet you, Juunanagou. Breakfast will be ready shortly."

Then she was gone. 

To Be Continued… 

I need reviews. Puhhhleeeaasseee?      


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